My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Results tagged ‘ 15-Day Disabled List ’

This past Friday, to fill in the hole left by backup shortstop Freddy Galvis being placed on the 15-Day Disabled List as he recovers from MRSA, the Phils made a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, receiving infielder Jayson Nix in exchange for cash. Jayson joined the team before yesterday’s opening day game with the Texas Rangers.

Nix, a six year veteran infielder, who had played for the Rockies, the White Sox, the Indians, the Blue Jays and the Yankees since 2008, has appeared in 425 games, with a batting average of .218 (267 for 1222), as he has hit 55 doubles, 2 triples and 37 home runs, and knocked in 126 RBIs, while scoring 141 times. He has also walked 105 times. Until Galvis has recovered from MRSA, he will act as the team’s backup shortstop.

Welcome to the team Jayson. Hope you’ll fill Freddy’s shoes admirably while he’s on the disabled list.

As the Phils prepare to play their final two spring training games at Citizens Bank Park, they have announced that they plan to start the season with six of their players on the 15-day disabled list.

The six players are infielder Freddy Galvis with a left knee infection, outfielder/first baseman Darin Ruf out with a left oblique strain, left-handed starter Cole Hamels with left biceps tendinitis, right-handed starter Miguel Gonzalez with right shoulder tendinitis, right-handed reliever Mike Adams, who is recovering from right shoulder surgery and right-handed reliever Ethan Martin with right shoulder inflammation, with all but Adams being retroactive to March 21, as Adams goes back to March 26.

Adams has said that he hopes to join the team by April 15, while Hamels believes he should be ready by the end of April. Galvis, who is recovering from MRSA, hopes to be back by the middle of April. Ruf should be out for four to six weeks because of his injury, while Martin has started throwing. Ruben Amaro has mentioned that Gonzalez might be placed on the 60-day disabled list to give the team a bit of flexibility on the 40-man roster.

I just hope they guys will get back soon, so that they can all help the team.

Today, the Phils have announced that they have placed reliever Jose Contreras onto the 15-day disabled list for a right forearm strain, retroactive to June 20. This will be the second time that Contreras has been placed on the DL, having originally been placed on the shelf by the team from April 25 to May 26 because of a right flexner pronator strain. This could help explain why he had not been doing so well pitching in relief after coming off the DL late last month.

The Phils will replace him with Juan Perez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where, in 28 appearances, he has an 0-3 record with a 3.52 ERA. He had struck out 41 batters in 30.2 innings of work, with a .184 batting average against left handers.

Whatever happen, this should help Contreras to return to what he was doing against opponents before his injury. Of course, we won’t really know that until his return.

In spite of striking out sixteen batters, Cliff Lee still ends up losing the ballgame as the Phils get shut out by the Braves, losing 5-0.

The Braves took the lead in the third as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Chipper Jones hits an RBI single, knocking in Alex Gonzalez, who had just doubled, giving the Braves a 1-0 lead. The Braves then took a 2-0 lead as Brian McCann hits an RBI double, knocking in Jones. The Braves then made it 3-0 as Dan Uggla hits an RBI double, scoring McCann. The Braves added to their lead in the ninth as, with one man on, and with one man out, Martin Prado hits an RBI single, scoring Jason Heyward, who had earlier singled, then stole second base, giving the Braves a 4-0 lead, while Prado would move up to second base on the throw to home plate. The Braves then took a 5-0 lead as Gonzalez hits an RBI single, knocking in Prado, before being thrown out trying to go to second base as the throw home is cut off, 7-6-4, for the inning’s second out. That would end up being the final score as the Phils would go down weakly in the ninth.

Cliff Lee (2-3, 3.69) took the lost as he went seven innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and a walk, while striking out sixteen, tying Steve Carlton’s record for most strikeouts by a Phils’ left hander. J.C. Romero pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Danys Baez pitched an inning, giving up two runs on three hits, as he striked out a batter. Derek Lowe (3-3, 3.22) got the win as he went six innings plus two batters, giving up just two hits and a walk, while striking out four. Eric O’Flaherty collected his fifth hold of the year as he pitched a scoreless inning, striking out the side. Jonny Venters collected his eighth hold of the season as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two. Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk, as he struck out a batter.

The Phils had only two hits in the game, a single by Shane Victorino and a ground-rule double by Placido Polanco, as Derek Lowe and the Braves’ bullpen handled them all night.

The Phils (21-10, 1st) will continue their series with the Braves (19-15, 3rd) with a night game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm EDT. The Phils will send to the mound Kyle Kendrick (1-2, 2.08), who is pitching in place of Roy Oswalt, who was put on the disabled list to give his back a rest, as he comes off a lost in relief against the Mets on May 1, as he went three innings, giving up a run on four hits and two walks, while he struck out one, in the Phils’ 2-1 extra-inning lost. He will be out to prove himself, while seeing if he can continue owning the Braves. The Braves will counter with Julio Teheran (0-0, -.–) who will be making his major league debut. He will be trying to control the Phils. The Phils will be out to even the series, while trying to take care of the rookie.

After being good for the first three innings, Kyle Kendrick gets hurt for six runs, as the Phils drop the opener of their three games series with the Reds, 7-3.

The Reds took the lead in the fourth as, with one man on, and with two men out, Scott Rolen hits a two-run home run, his seventeenth home run of the season, knocking in Joey Votto, who had earlier doubled, giving the Reds a 2-0 lead. The Red increased their lead in the sixth as, with the bases loaded, via Johnny Cueto reaching first base on a Chase Utley fielding error, a Brandon Phillips’ single, moving Cueto up to second base, and a Orlando Cabrera single, moving both runners up a base, and with nobody out, Votto hits an RBI single, knocking in Cueto, making it a 3-0 Reds’ lead, while moving both Phillips and Cabrera up a base. With the bases still loaded, and with still noone out, Rolen hits a sacrifiice fly, scoring Phillips, giving the Reds a 4-0 lead. The Phils got a run back in the seventh as, with one man on, and with one man out, Raul Ibanez hits an RBI single, knocking in Ryan Howard, who had earlier tripled, to make it a 4-1 Reds’ lead. The Red got the run back in their half of the seventh as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Ramon Hernandez hits an RBI double, knocking in Drew Stubbs, who had earlier reached base on an infield single, giving the Reds a 5-1 lead. Three batters later, with a runner on third, and with two men out, Cabrera hits an RBI single, knocking in Hernandez, who had gone to third on Cueto’s sacrifice bunt, 2-4, making it a 6-1 Reds’ lead. The Reds made it 7-1 in the eighth as, with two men on, and with one out, pinch hitter Chris Heisey hits a sacrifice fly, knocking in Jay Bruce, who had earlier doubled, and went to third on Hernandez’s sacrifice bunt. The Phils then made it 7-3 as Ibanez hits a two-run home run, his sixth home run of the season, knocking in Jayson Werth, who had just singled. But that would be the final score as Bill Bray got pinch hitter Dane Sardinha to strikeout swinging, for the game’s final out.

Kyle Kendrick took the lost as he pitches six and a third innings, giving up six runs, five of which were earned, on eight hits, as he strikes out four. His record is now 4-3 with an ERA of 4.88. David Herndon pitches a third of an inning, giving up a hit. J.C. Romero also pitches a third of an inning, giving up a hit and a walk. Mike Zagurski pitches two innings, giving up a run on one hit and a walk, while striking out a batter. Johnny Cueto gets the win as he pitches eight strong innings, giving up only one run on six hits and two walks. His record is now 8-2 with a 3.74 ERA. Bill Bray pitches an inning, giving up two runs on two hits, while striking out a batter.

The Phils had only eight hits in the game, with Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez leading the team with two hits each. Howard’s hits were a double and a triple, scoring a run, Werth’s hits were two singles, scoring a run, while Ibanez’s hits were a single and a two-run home run, knocking in all three Phils’ runs. Shane Victorino and Chase Utley had the other two Phils’ hits, both singles, as the Phils’ offense was unable to do anything against Cueto, while they might have lost Utley for a while, as he jammed his right thumb while sliding into second base, head first. (The Phils have just announced that they have placed both Utley and Placido Polanco on the 15-day disabled list for their injuries: Utley (sprained right thumb) and Polanco (elbow trouble)). Alright, who’s the wise guy playing with the devil dolls? Whoever you are, cut it out!!

The Phils (40-34, 3rd NL East) continue their three-games series with the Reds (43-34, 1st NL Central) with a game tonight. The game will be played at Great American Ball Park and will start at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Joe Blanton (3-5, 6.53), who is coming off a spectacular win against the Indians on June 24, where he went seven and two-thirds innings, giving up just three runs on six hits, while striking out eight, in the Phils’ 12-3 rout. He will be shooting for his third straight quality start. The Reds will counter with Mike Leake (5-1, 2.92), who is coming off a no-decision against the A’s on June 24, where he went six innings, giving up a run on five hits and four walks, while striking out two, in the Reds’ 6-4 win. He will be trying to take advantage of the once again injury-hurt Phils’ offfense. The Phils will be trying to tie the series while hoping not to be too affected by the lost of their nos. 2- and 3-hole hitters for a while.

The Phils tie a franchise record by scoring ten runs in the first inning while in route to a 22-1 rout of the Reds, one of the most lop-sided scores in the team’s long history. The Phils’ lead in the National League East is now at two games over the Marlins, as they lose to the Giants.

After Phils’ starter Cole Hamels had an easy first inning, the Phils’ batters went to work on Reds’ starter Johnny Cueto. After Jimmy Rollins worked a walk, Shane Victorino gave the Phils a quick 2-0 lead as he belt Cueto’s ninth pitch into the right field seats for a two-run home run, his sixth home run of the season, scoring Rollins in front of him. After Chase Utley is called out on strike for the first out of the inning, and Ryan Howard then lined out to the third baseman, 5-unassisted, Jayson Werth continued the inning with a single. The next batter, Greg Dobbs, made it 4-0 Phils as he hits a two-run shot of his own, also to right field, his fifth home run of the year, knocking in Werth. After Pedro Feliz was hit by the pitch and then Carlos Ruiz was walked, moving Feliz up to second base, Hamels helped his own cause by hitting a two-run double, scoring both Feliz and Ruiz, giving the Phils a 6-0 lead, as the Phils batted around. Rollins, up for the second time in the inning, hits an RBI double of his own, scoring Hamels, and making it 7-0 Phils. After Victorino was walked, Reds’ manager Dusty Baker had seen enough, as he came to the mound and took out Cueto, replacing him with Daniel Ray Herrera. Utley quickly greeted Herrera with a three-run shot to right center field, his nineteenth home run of the season, knocking in both Rollins and Victorino, giving the Phils a 10-0 lead, tying the Phillies’ franchise record for the most runs scored in the first inning, which had been done three previous times, with the most recent one occurring on June 2, 2002, against the Expos. The inning finally ended with Howard being called out on strikes for the inning’s final out.

The Reds would get onto the scoreboard in the second as Jonny Gomes hits a lead-off home run, his fifth home run of the year, making it a 10-1 Phils’ lead. But that would be it for the Reds, as Hamels kept them quiet during the seven innings that he would pitch, going after them, as he gave up only three hits, while walking none and striking out only two batters. Meanwhile, the Phils just kept on scoring. They would make it 11-1 in their half of the second as, with two men on, and one out, Ruiz hits an RBI single, knocking in Dobbs, who had earlier singled, and had gone to second on Feliz’s single, while seconding Feliz up to second base. The Phils increased their lead to 12-1 in the third as, with runners on the corners, and one man out, Werth hits a sacrifice fly for the inning’s second out, knocking in Victorino, who had earlier hit a ground-rule double, and had gone to third, when Howard hit in a force play, 3-6, as Utley, who had just walked, was wiped out at second base, while Howard was safe at first. The Phils then proceeded to really pile it on in the fourth. With two men out, Hamels got on base with a single. Rollins followed with a walk, sending Hamels on to second base. Victorino then followed with an RBI double, knocking in Hamels, giving the Phils a 13-1 lead, while sending Rollins up to third. Utley then hits an RBI infield single as he beats out Reds’ third baseman Edwin Encarnacion’s throw to first, which allowed Rollins to score, making it a 14-1 Phils’ lead, while Victornio stopped at third. Utley is then replaced at first base by pinch runner Eric Bruntlett, giving Utley some rest. Howard then followed with an RBI single to right, which scored Victorino, making it a 15-1 Phils’ lead, before it became 16-1 as Bruntlett would score on Reds’ right fielder Jay Bruce’s fielding error, which also allowed Howard to move to second, before he is in turn replaced by pinch runner John Mayberry, Jr., so that he can also get some rest.

The score would stay 16-1, as Hamels, and then Tyler Walker kept the Reds under control, while the Reds’ bullpen would keep the Phils off of the board until the bottom of the eighth inning. With one man out, pinch hitter Matt Stairs would get on base with a walk. Rollins would follow with a single, sending Stairs up to second base. Victorino followed with a single, scoring Stairs, making it a 17-1 Phils’ lead, while moving Rollins up to second base. Bruntlett followed him with an RBI double, knocking in Rollins, giving the Phils an 18-1 lead, while Victorino would stop at third. Mayberry then walked, loading the bases. Werth would then clear the bases with a grand slam home run, his seventeenth home run of the year, sending home Victorino, Bruntlett and Mayberry before him, as he gave the Phils a 22-1 lead, the team’s highest runs total since the 26 runs that they would score against the Mets on June 11, 1985, and the fifth highest runs total in franchise’s history, as well as being the highest numbers of runs that they would score at Citizens Bank Park. This would be the final score as Scott Eyre, coming off of the 15-days disabled list, would pitch a scoreless ninth.

Cole Hamels got the win, as he pitched the team’s fifth straight quality start, and the fourth for the present home stand, as he went seven innings, giving up just one run on three hits, while he struck out two. His record is now 5-5 with an ERA of 4.70. Tyler Walker pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Scott Eyre pitched a scoreless inning, giving up just two hits, as he struck out two. Johnny Cueto lasted only two-thirds of an inning, giving up nine runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out only one batter. His record is now 8-5 with a 3.45 ERA. Daniel Ray Herrera pitched two and a thirds innings of relief, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk, as he struck out two. Nick Masset pitched an inning, giving up four runs, three of which were earned, on four hits and a walk, as he struck out one. Carlos Fisher and Josh Roenicke would combine for three scoreless innings, giving up only three hits (Fisher (2), Roenicke (1)), while they each struck out two batters. Paul Janish, normally a position player, pitched an inning, giving up six runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out a batter.

The Phils had twenty-one hits in the game, the most hits that they have had in one game so far this year. Shane Victorino and Greg Dobbs leads the team with four hits each, followed by Jimmy Rollins with three hits. Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and Cole Hamels come next with two hits a piece. Ryan Howard, Pedro Feliz, Carlos Ruiz and Eric Bruntlett have the other four Phils’ hits. The Phils had ten extra-base hits in the game (2B (6), HR (4)) as Victorino was a triple short of hitting the cycle. Werth knocked in the most runs with five, thanks to his grand slam home run and his earlier sac fly. Victorino and Utley followed with four RBIs each, followed by Dobbs and Hamels with two RBIs a pieces, then by Rollins, Howard, Ruiz and Bruntlett with one RBI each. All of the Phils’ starters had a hit in last night’s game, with each man who had batted in the first, except for Howard, getting a hit that inning. The Phils ended up leaving only six men on base, as they have now won four straight games at home, after coming home from a 3-6 road trip.

The Phillies (43-37, 1st National League East) continued their so far successful home stand with a night game against the Reds (40-41, 4- T National League Central). The game will start at 7:05 pm and will be played at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies will send to the mound J.A. Happ (5-0, 2.96), presently their best starter this season, as he comes off a no-decision against the Braves on July 2, where he pitched seven strong innings, giving up only two runs on seven hits and two walks, as he struck out five, in the Phils’ 5-2 lost. He will be going for his sixth win of the year, and planning to pitch the fifth straight quality start on the home stand. The Reds will counter with Aaron Harang (5-8, 3.86), who is coming off a no-decision against the D-backs on July 3, where he went seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out eighth, in the Reds’ 3-2 win. He will be trying to break a personal four-games losing streak, while hoping that the Phils’ bats will not be as potent as they were last night. The Phils will be shooting for their fifth straight win at home, while trying to take care of business while increasing their lead over the rest of the Eastern Division.

The Phillies end Interleague Play on a high note as they leave Toronto with a series win and a two-game winning streak, as they defeat the Blue Jays, 5-4. The win, the 252nd in Jamie Moyer’s long career, pushes him into 43rd place on the all-time wins list, going past Hall of Famer Bob Gibson. But it was not easy.

The Blue Jays took a quick lead in the first as, with one man out, Aaron Hill hits a solo home run, his eighteenth home run of the season, making it 1-0 Blue Jays. Toronto increased their lead in the second, as, with one man on, and two men out, Jose Bautista hits a two-run home run, his second home run of the year, knocking in Lyle Overbay, who had just walked, to give the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead. In the third, the Phils made it 3-1 Blue Jays, as, with runners on second and third, and with one man out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI ground out, 3-unassisted, scoring Shane Victorino, who had earlier singled, moved over to second on Jayson Werth’s walk, and then went to third when Chase Utley struck out, but the ball got passed Blue Jays’s catcher Raul Chavez for a passed ball, while sending Werth, who had earlier walked, and had moved up to second on the pass ball, would go on to third base. It then became a 4-1 Blue Jays’ lead as Hill hits a lead-off home run, his ninteenth home run of the year, and his second of the game. Later in the inning, the Blue Jays threathen to add more runs to their lead, as they had two men on base, Scott Rolen via a double, and Adam Lind via a walk, with only one out. But Phils’ starter Jamie Moyer would get out of the jam by striking out first Alex Rios, and then Overbay, with both man swinging. The Phils would then take over the lead in the fourth. The Phils would load the bases on a Pedro Feliz single, a Chris Coste walk, which would move Feliz up to second base, and then a bunt single by Eric Bruntlett, which moved both Feliz and Coste up a base, with nobody out. Carlos Ruiz then hits a grounder to Blue Jays’ third baseman, Rolen, which could have been a doubleplay ball, if the play wasn’t broken up by Bruntlett’s slide, knocking down Blue Jays’ second baseman, Hill. The play instead becomes a force out, 5-4, allowing Feliz to score from third, making the score 4-2 Blue Jays, while Coste would move to third, and Ruiz would be safe first, with only one out. Victorino then followed with a sacrifice fly for the inning’s second out, scoring Coste from third, making it a 4-3 Blue Jays’ lead. Two batters later, with two men on, and still two men out, Utley hits a two-run triple, knocking in Ruiz, who had gone to second on Werth’s single, and Werth, who had just singled, to give the Phils’ a 5-4 lead. That would be the score until the ninth, as Moyer would handle the Blue Jays for the fourth-fifth innings, Chan Ho Park would shut them down for two innings, and Ryan Madson would keep the Blue Jays in check in the eighth inning. In the ninth, the Phils would hand the ball over to Brad Lidge, back from the 15-games disabled list, to record the save. At first, he ran into trouble, as he allowed two men on base, a single to Chavez and a walk to Marco Scutaro, moving John McDonald, who was pinch running for Chavez, to second base with the tying run. After getting Hill to pop out to Utley, with the Infield Fly Rule in effect, for the first out, Lidge would pick McDonald off of second base. After missing McDonald, he threw the ball to Feliz, who would eventually tag McDonald out, 1-5-6-5, for the inning’s second out, killing the threat as the batter, Vernon Wells, then proceeded to ground out 6-3, for the final out.

Jamie Moyer won the game, pitching five innings, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks, while striking four. His record for the year is now 6-6, the Phils’ first six game winner, with an ERA of 6.05. Chan Ho Park recorded his fourth hold as he pitched two scoreless innings, striking out a batter. Ryan Madson recorded his fourteenth hold of the season, as he gave up only a hit and a walk. Brad Lidge recorded his fourteenth save of the year, as he gave up only a hit and a walk. Brian Tallet got the lost, as he pitched six inning, giving up five runs, only four of which were earned, on eight hits and six walks, while striking out six. His record is now 5-5 with a 4.47 ERA. Brandon League, Jeremy Accardo and Jason Frasor combined for three shut out innings, giving up only two hits (League (1), Frasor (1)) and three walks (Accardo (2) Frasor (1)) between them, while they stuck out only three batters (League (2), Accardo (1)).

The Phillies collected ten hits in the game, with Chase Utley leading the team with two hits, a double and a triple, knocking in two runs, as he raised his average to .302. Shane Victornio, Jayson Werth, Ryan Howard, Pedro Feliz, Chris Coste, Eric Bruntlett, Carlos Ruiz and Matt Stairs got the other eight Phils’ hits, all singles, with Stairs’ being a pinch hit single. Besides Utley’s two RBIs, Howard, Victorino and Ruiz each knocked in a run, with Victorino’s being a sacrifice fly. With Interleague Play now behind them, as well as a series win, the Phils will resume playing fellow National League teams, as they hope to increase their lead in the NL East.

The Phillies (39-34, 1st) have the day off today. They will resume play tomorrow night with their first visit to Atlanta as they face the Braves, hoping to continue their road winning ways as they at the moment stand at .500 for the present road trip. They are presently leading the Mets by two and a half games, as they were swept this weekend by the Yankees.

The Phils continue to show themselves to be the best road team in the major league after posting six quick runs in the first as they coast to an easy 10-1 victory over the 2008 American League Champions Rays. In the process, the Phils stopped a six games losing streak.

The Phils took an early lead in the first as, with two men on, and nobody out, Chase Utley hits a two-run double, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who had earlier reached base on a two-base throwing error by Rays’ third baseman Evan Langoria, and Shane Victorino, who had just walked, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead. It became 3-0 Phils as Ryan Howard hits an RBI double, scoring Utley. After Jayson Werth followed Howard with a single, sending him up to third base, putting runners on the corner, with still nobody out, and Pedro Feliz struck out swinging, for the Phils’ first out, John Mayberry made it 6-0 Phils with a three-run home run, his third home run of the season, scoring both Howard and Werth. The six-run outburst made things easier for Phils’ starter Jamie Moyer, who would proceed to have an easy game, giving up only five hits before finally being taken out of the game in the seventh. Before then, the Phils would add to their lead. In the top of the fourth, with two men on, and nobody out, Carlos Ruiz hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, for the Phils’ first out of the inning, while scoring Mayberry, who had reached first base on a missed catch error by Rays’ first baseman Carlos Pena, then moved up to second on Chris Coste’s single, before continuing on to third on Rays’ center field B.J. Upton’s fielding error, while Coste moved up to second, as the Phils increased their lead to 7-0. Two batters later, with Coste now on third with, two men out, thanks to a Rollins’ ground out, 4-3, Victorino would make it an 8-0 lead as he hits an RBI single, scoring Coste. Utley then gave the Phils a 10-0 lead as he hits a two-run home run, his sixteenth home run of the season, knocking in Victorino. The Rays would score a run in their half of the fourth as, with two men on, and two men out, Jason Bartlett hits an RBI single, knocking in Pena, who had earlier doubled, while sending Pat Burrell, who had earlier walked, over to second, making it a 10-1 Phils’ lead. But that would be all of the scoring that night, as the Rays’ bullpen stopped the Phils’ offense, while Tyler Walker and Sergio Escalona, recalled from the minors to take the place of Clay Condrey, who had been placed on the 15-day disabled list, took over for Moyer and threw three shut out innings at the Rays.

Jamie Moyer got the win as he pitched six strong innings, only giving up a run on five hits and three walks, while striking out four, recording career victory no. 251. His record is now 5-6 with an ERA of 5.97. Tyler Walker and Sergio Escalona combined for three shut out innings, giving up only three hits (Walker), while striking out one (Walker). David Price took the lost, as he got roughed up for all ten runs, only five of which were earned, on seven hits and two walks, while striking out only two, in four and a third innings of work. His record is now 1-2 with a 4.45 ERA. Winston Abreu and Lance Cormier then came in for four and two-thirds scoreless innings, giving up only three hits (Abreu (2), Cormier (1)) and a walk (Abreu), while striking out five batters between them (Abreu (3), Cormier (2)).

The Phils had ten hits in the game, with Chase Utley leading the way with three hits, including a double and a home run, knocking in four runs, as he raised his batting average to .303. He was followed by Shane Victorino, who had two hits, knocking in a run, as he raisied his average to .308. Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, John Mayberry Jr., Chris Coste and Carlos Ruiz had the other five Phillies’ hits, with Mayberry’s hit being a three-run home run, and Howard’s hit a one-run double. Besides Utley’s four RBIs, Mayberry’s three, and Victorino and Howard’s one RBI each, Ruiz knocked in the other RBI, as the Phils’ bats finally knocked in some runs, as they took advantage of some sloppy fielding by the Rays.

The Phillies (37-31, 1st National League East) continue their three-games Interleague Play series with the Rays (37-35, 4th American League East). The game will be played at Tropicana Field, at 7:08 pm Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Joe Blanton (4-3, 5.28), who is coming off his third straight no-decision, this one against the Blue Jays on June 18, as he pitched five and one-third innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and a walk, while he struck out two, in the Phils’ 8-7 lost. He will once again try for his fourth straight win and his fifth win of the season, while trying to eat up the innings to help give the bullpen a much needed rest. The Rays will counter with Matt Garza (4-5, 3.83), who is coming off a lost against the Rockies on June 18, as he pitched five innings, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks, as he struck out five, in the Blue Jays’ 4-3 lost. He will be trying to even up his record while hoping to avoid getting creamed by the Phils’ potent road warrior offense. The Phillies will be looking for another road win, while at the same time go back to increasing their lead over the Mets.

The Phils lose yet another series at home as they get spanked by the Blue Jays, losing 7-1. Also, they lose Raul Ibanez for a while as he is placed on the disabled list for fifteen days with a groin pull. Ugh. No more bad news, please!!!!

The Blue Jays took a quick 1-0 lead in the first as, with one man on and nobody out, Aaron Hill hits an RBI double, scoring Marco Scutaro, who had earlier singled. The Blue Jays made it 2-0 as, with two men on, and still nobody out, Scott Rolen hits an RBI single, scoring Hill, and sending Vernon Wells, who had just walked, over to second base. Two batters later, with runners on second and third, via a double steal by Wells and Rolen, and with one man out, Alex Rios hits an RBI ground out, 6-3, for the inning’s second out, while Wells scored from third, making it a 3-0 Blue Jays’ lead. The Blue Jays increased their lead to 4-0 in the second as Rod Barajas hits a lead-off home run, his fifth home run of the year. The Phils would get a run back in the fourth as, with two outs, Jayson Werth hits a solo home run, his eleventh home run of the year, making it 4-1 Toronto. That would be the score until the seventh when, with a runner on first, and nobody out, Hill hits a two-run home run, his fifteenth home run of the season, knocking in Scutaro, who had earlier singled, making it a 6-1 Blue Jays’ lead. Two batters later, with one man out, Rolen would hit a home run of his own, his fourth home run of the year, making it 7-1 Blue Jays. That would be the final score as the Phils could not put together any offense last night.

Jamie Moyer took the lost as he went six innings plus two batters, giving up six runs on ten hits and two walks, while striking out six. His record is now 4-6 with a 6.35 ERA. Chad Durbin pitched an inning, giving up a run on one hit, while striking out a batter. Jack Taschner and Tyler Walker would combine for two scoreless innings, giving up only one hit (Walker) and a walk (Taschner), while striking out three (Taschner (1), Walker (2)). Scott Richmond got the win as he pitched eight innings, giving up only one run on five hits and a walk, as he struck out eleven Phils. His record is now 5-3 with a 3.58 ERA. B.J. Ryan pitched a third of an inning, giving up a hit and two walks. Brandon League pitched two-thirds of an inning, getting out both men that he would face, while recording a strike out.

The Phils had only six hits in the game. Shane Victorino led the team with two hits, with Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Pedro Feliz and Chris Coste getting the other four, with Werth’s hit, a solo home run, knocking in the Phils’ only run.

The Phillies (36-27, 1st National League East) will continue their Interleague Play three-games series with the Blue Jays (36-31, 3rd American League East). The game is being played right now at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies’ starter is Joe Blanton (4-3, 5.17), who is coming off a no-decision against the Red Sox on June 12, where he went seven innings, giving up just two runs on five hits and two walks, as he struck out seven, in the Phils’ 5-2 extra-innings lost. He will be trying to get his fifth win, while trying to also end the Phils’ present two-games losing streak. He will be opposed by rookie Brad Mills (0-0, -.–), who is making his major league debut. He hopes to impress the Blue Jays, while hoping that he can take advantage of the Phils present home problems. The Phils hope to end their present slide, while waiting for the lowly Orioles to come to town this weekend.

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